Arte California

Early Morning

I love to awaken in the early morning while the rest of the household is still asleep. I didn’t even wake the puppy this morning, as I slipped out of bed and went into the kitchen. I whipped up a batch of Streuseled Apple-Oatmeal-Cinnamon Chip Muffins (recipe below), put them in the oven to bake, and made a nice pot of fresh coffee.

Serves: 12

For the Streusel Topping:

4 Tablespoonsbutter, softenedn (I use Earth Balance spread(

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup steel cut oats

3/4 teaspoonground cinnamon

For the muffins:

1 cupall-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup turbinado sugar

1-1/2 teaspoonsbaking powder

1-1/2 teaspoonsground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoonsalt

2 largeeggs or egg substitute

1 cupwhole milk or non-dairy milk

1/2 cupvegetable oil

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, grated with a box grater and squeezed until most liquid is gone

lemon juice

1 cupcinnamon chips

1 cupsteel cut oats

Directions

For the streusel topping, add all ingredients to a medium bowl. Use a pastry blender or your hands to mash ingredients together into crumb-like pieces. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour,sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and oil. Combine with dry mixture until fully incorporated.

Sprinkle some lemon juice over the shredded and squeezed apple to keep it from turning brown. Add apple, cinnamon chips and oatmeal to the flour mixture and stir.

Add batter to a paper-lined muffin tin, about 2/3 full for each. Divide streusel evenly over the batter. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the pan after a couple minutes. They taste amazing at room temp but warm they are crazy yummy too.

I went out for a walk as the muffins baked, up to Laurelhurst Park, one of Portland’s most beautiful parks. The morning was cool and brisk. I was greeted by a local ‘resident’ who chattered above my head as I passed.

We used to live a couple of blocks from Laurelhurst. However, now, getting there by foot takes time, so I wasn’t able to stick around for long, since I had muffins in the oven. However, I was taken by this park’s beauty this morning. The colors. The huge trees. The happy people out for their morning strolls. It was all a magnificent treat!

As I walked, I thought about everything that I have to be thankful for in my life. I whispered a prayer and sent it on the wind, to someone I love who isn’t feeling well. I thought of our Maya in Seattle, of Ingrid, probably still asleep, of Kelley and Alex and of little Arlo in Texas. I also smiled to think of my little puppy at home, who was just waking up when I walked back into the house. Here she is with her favorite toy, “Baby”. She sleeps with it every night and carries it around the house with her just like my 2 year old used to carry her blankie everywhere.

The aroma of cinnamon and coffee greeted me when I got back. The house felt welcoming, and I felt gratitude. I certainly have much to be thankful for on this glorious Portland morning!

So now, I shall begin my day….with a statistics lesson, a songwriting class, a guitar class, a music theory class…a trip to the studio…a nice visit with John and with Sarah Beth, who is staying with us for awhile. But I won’t do any of it until I’ve had a cuppa hot coffee and a muffin!